Leaderboard

We made it to Dead Horse State Park and enjoyed Cottonwood, Gerome and Sedona. Then a couple of days at Grand Canyon and a night in Williams AZ, our first experience on route 66. Then on to Page Arizona, Horse Shoe Bend, and Lake Powell. Today we arrived in Zion and are staying at Watchman Campground. I forgot when I booked this it was President's Day weekend. This place is jammed. I can't imagine what it is like in the Summer. The entrance to the park was backed up over a mile. We are here for 3 nights. Today was a beautiful 66 degrees and they started running the shuttles on the weekends until Spring yesterday. Unfortunately, the weather is going to turn nasty and very cold. Our plan was to head to Bryce Canyon on Wednesday and work our way toward Moab on March 1st, where we have a week long reservation. The stops we had planned were all parks like Frutia that are not accepting reservations this early. This may turn out to be a blessing!!! Bryce is expected to see night time temps at 10 below on and highs in the teens. We have already done single digits on this trip. I knew this could happen and it did in Carlsbad, NM. We are altering our plans and heading south west to get some warmer weather on Wednesday. We are setting our sites on Lake Mead for a few days before we head to Moab. I have nothing to prove at this stage of my life, I like warm!! We left Maine in the winter to avoid below 0 temps. As capable as Beacon has demonstrated to be, we are going to be moderately warm outside of Las Vegas!!! So we drive an extra 500 miles!! We will try to catch Bryce on our way to Moab or perhaps while we are there! We are having a great time, smores and beverages by the fire tonight. My career took us on some really nice trips to resorts all over the US in warm climates, I have never been to the places we are seeing on this trip!! I feel very fortunate. My first time to Zion. Amazing!! Anyway, Beacon at Watchman Campground in Zion!!

We bought one of these collapsible awning hooks to grab things way under the tonneau cover. Works great for that. Figure it'll work in the basement, too. https://www.amazon.com/Camco-42544-Reach-Awning-Opener/dp/B003ZDERX0

We love our basement access door! We have a dog and two cats accompanying us and they all ride in the back seat of the truck in transit to our next destination - we utilize the basement to hold our chocks and set up equipment but once we are set up we set the empty crates in the truck bed and the basement is where the cat litter box goes - fits perfect, easy to access and clean daily, and the basement door stays open for the cats, only closing it long enough to clean the litter box. Works great for us and keeps the dog from getting into the mess.

Ours came with the Laguna table option. We only used it part of the time. Mostly I got tired of setting up the table, and then taking it down multiple times a day (every time I need into get into the nightstand drawer, and every night to go to sleep). I changed the table to side mount style. Now I just rotate the table to the side to get into the drawer, or rotate it over the night stand for sleep. The table never comes down, just raising and lowering the table to where I need it. So we use the table all the time. I may go with a custom table top that will give us a little extra table space. Now that the table is no longer in the way, I want to add the door added to access the rear bay. I want it use it for a clothes hamper. I use the larger section of the bay for water filter and water hoses. I do not like reaching all the way back into the bay. Pulling out a cloths basket/milk crate should be easier.

I can get three milk crates in my basement, 2 that are the 14"x19" long ones and 1 of the standard size ones, maybe 14"x14" ones, I would have to measure then to see. I also took a wood dowel and put a hook in the end to grab the crate that is pushed way to the back as you will not be able to reach in an grab it very easily. I will say here I have just gone to using the two larger crates as have the free space in the front works better for me and I find I do get more room for the quick needed things at the front. trainman

I'm personally not a fan of portable gas heaters, but everyone has to make their own decisions. Some are more efficient than others. Some emit more co and h2o than others. Some like Mr buddy, some like wave. With my tiny little dog, I'm not partial to either. I just leave the furnace on lowest setting, and reach over to turn it up in the morning, from bed. That little fan is really great, though, Topgun2! Love it!

The blocks that fell off are there because the "pioneers" like us, felt they were helpful. Not original equipment in the first generation. Not essential, but they do help reduce rub. We added them, circa 2011 or 2012. . A small tube of jb weld is probably 6 or 7 dollars. It's in our kit, anyway, for trailer and boat. Even so, if you would experience the same rare failure, I'm sure Oliver would reimburse you. They've always been decent and generous. Make sure you open a ticket, and get advice, before you launch out on your own, imo. Like others, I've not heard of this failure before. Anything can happen. Block placement is important, and jb weld is pretty permanent.

That's good to know. It looks like it would be useful for eating at or playing games.

I may go with the Lagun table side mount that someone here makes, but it seems most people don't use the table much. Foy makes a nice wooden table top so I may do that in the future.

Our cube heater has a dial thermostat..... as you rotate it, there will be a point when it turns from off to on. Made the mistake of turning a bit too far past that point on the first night we used it. Woke up at 3 in the morning and it was 85 degrees inside. Won't make that mistake again. Those little heaters are awesome to run when hooked up.

Hey Gang, Started doing some advance planning for a 2-4 week Florida trip (from WNC) thinking that about a year out would be good. But... guess I have to think again. We are pretty flexible about where we go... just want to get away from the cold a bit. Time frame would be Feb 2023. I find that just about every state park I look at is booked 11 months in advance. Any advice on how to navigate the state reservation system... Tips... Tricks... other sites or resources to explore would be much appreciated. Thanks in Advance, Scotty

We're preparing to sell our Ollie so I downloaded the current pricing worksheet to see what changes there are for 2022.. Checking off the options we have on our 2019 unit, it would cost over $10K more to buy it today. Still cheaper than an Airstream and better quality to boot.

On my 2016 Elite II the width (from the rear of the camper towards the front of the camper) right inside the outside basement door is - 35 1/2 inches. The width then narrows down to 26 inches. Note that these are the "maximum" measurements - due to the slope/curve of the hull, these measurements are a touch shorter when measured right at the floor level. Hopes this helps! Bill p.s. also not that the outside basement door opening as measured from the interior is 15 3/4 to 16 inches wide by 13 inches high.

I feel your pain. Even as a Florida resident, it's really hard to get reservations in the most popular parks, in February and March, our most popular tourist months. I've been told that there are folks who sit up til midnight every night to get on the system, just as the dates open up, 11 months out, and I actually believe it. I won't do that, and I doubt you'd want to, either. You won't be able to make any reservations for February 2023 til next month. Then, what you can do is look by "city" instead of a specific park, for the days you want. The popular parks may indeed be booked, but it will bring up availability in many other state parks. In my example, I was really surprised to see Anastasia open, but maybe because I was only looking for a one night stay. As you can see, results may not be all that close to the city you enter, but at least it's a place to start.

We like to sleep in a cool room, so your approach is what I would do.

We have the side mount Lagun with a custom top that looks similar to what Foy is making. Our is made from mahogany from a wooden boat builder. The table is very useful for us.

We have the interior basement door. We don't use it very much if at all. We did open it up when the temps got to the single digits. I have most of my water,electric, coax , and sewer materials in the basement in 2 of the elongated milk crates. Also some assorted tools. If you have a twin bed set up and want the factory Lagun table I don't believe you can have the basement door.

My experience over the last 6 years has been that Oliver goes above and beyond for warranty work. If a tube of epoxy is an issue, I’m sure they would reimburse or send a check for the glue. Mike

Yes. At $200 it's cheap enough to store small items that you want handy. Also, the basement is long. I usually keep an old fire poker and use it to hook the milk crates I use to store stuff. But, if you had something small that was tough to reach it might save you crawling into the basement. You have plenty of time to think about it. 50% deposit and final build list is mid July - ish. Sorry for taking the thread off into the cube heater woods.

No problem using. It’s a two-part epoxy (equal parts), and I didn’t buy their applicator— just squeezed out on a piece of plank, mixed and used a putty knife to apply to the blocks. Then I clamped each on—pretty easy to see where they went. Left clamped overnight, although probably don’t need that long. I did ruff up the two surfaces the epoxy went between with 80 grit sandpaper (didn’t overdo it). I doubt the remaining epoxy is any good, but haven’t checked. But I will and report back. PS: The Plexus is still good after a month and a half. The bottle only rates the shelf life from date of manufacture as 7 months though. It is pricey and I used about half. Frank

I find it useful for a hand held vacuum but I can't see using that door to access anything else that's stored farther back.

Here is a pic at Ft. Davis S.P., the pics doesn't show how steep it really was, as you can see it was a back in spot which would have put the tongue of the trailer some 4-5 foot in the air. Well like you said, many campsites are level and nice, I was just late in getting a good one. trainman

There have been numerous posts in this forum about Oliver’s lithium battery systems—about their usefulness, limitations, and value with respect to cost. Despite reasonable arguments against it, a number of us have purchased the lithium package. Reasons for purchasing the option have included the ability to run the air conditioner (A/C) for short durations (like at highway rest stops), greater usable energy (more boondocking in cloudy weather without needing a generator), faster charging, and longer battery life. This post summarizes things I’ve learned over the last 6 months about the Xantrex/Lithium/Zamp system. This post might also be titled “Things I Wish I’d Known from the Start.” This summary is a work in progress. Hopefully, with your corrections and additions, this thread will be of use to others that have purchased the Lithionics option or are considering doing so. At the time of this writing, manuals and other information for the Lithionics batteries are in the Service Center Knowledge Base — see links at the end of this post. I assume at some point Lithionics information will be compiled with all of the other trailer manuals in Oliver University. Battery State of Charge A key component of the Lithionics system is the app that lets users monitor State of Charge (SOC) and voltage (see links below). The reliability of the SOC values (which describes the amount of energy remaining in the battery) depends on (1) maintaining SOC calibration and having (2) up-to-date Lithionics firmware. The SOC should be near 100% at 13.6 volts, and about 50% (+/- about 10%) at 13.2 volts. If this is not what you’re seeing on the Zamp controller, Xantrex remote, or Lithionics battery app, then something’s wrong. By way of example, a couple times we’ve experienced the SOC readings of 60% when the batteries were dead -- not good. Note that the voltage reading on the app while there is a load on the system (e.g., electric heater) is different than when there is no load; the “resting” voltage may be higher. SOC Calibration The SOC requires periodic calibration. According to the manual for the 130 Ah batteries, the SOC can be calibrated simply by charging the batteries to 14.4 volts. The manual also states that fully charging the batteries to 14.4 volts should be done at least once every two weeks for battery life. Get the 130-Ah battery manual from Lithionics using the links below; at the time of this writing, Oliver has the incorrect manual posted in the Knowledge Base). When charging with shore power, it is not always apparent that the batteries have reached 14.4 volts, because when charging, the batteries only stay at ~14.4 volts for a short while before dropping back to about 13.6 volts. You can verify that batteries have reached 14.4 volts by monitoring battery voltage using the Lithionics app during a charging event. If you are unsure that the batteries are reaching 14.4 volts, you can at least confirm that the Xantrex charger/inverter is set to charge to at least 14.4 volts in the Xantrex app (https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/en/kb/articles/xantrex-remote-bluetooth-pair-operation) and, under Settings, check the custom absorption voltage. Ours came from the factory set at 14.6 volts, which is sufficiently high to get the batteries to 14.4 volts. Lithionics Firmware At least some of us that picked up our trailers in spring or early summer have batteries with outdated firmware. As I understand from Lithionics, more recent firmware versions have an improved SOC algorithm (our initial SOC readings were unreliable). You can check firmware version with the Lithionics app by clicking on a battery, then clicking on the settings “sprocket” in the upper right side, and then clicking on firmware. Our battery came with firmware version 1.0.05; I’ve recently updated to 1.0.07 by clicking on flash firmware. This has to be done with your phone in close proximity to the battery, and has to be done separately for each battery. Updating firmware comes with a “…this is a critical operation…” warning; you might want to check with Oliver or Lithionics if you have any questions about doing this. Has updating firmware improved our SOC readings? I’m not sure yet, but I think so. So far, the readings seem more reliable, but I’m still testing. SOC Calibration by Cycling A Lithionics rep told me that the SOC can be calibrated by “cycling” the batteries, and that this should be done every two months. Cycling consists of discharging the batteries to reserve voltage (e.g., ~12.1 volts) and then charging to 14.4 volts. However, the rep could not point to written documentation supporting this form of calibration. As the batteries support more partial cycles than full cycles (see graph below), calibrating by simply charging to 14.4 volts (assuming this effectively calibrates the SOC) seems better for battery life. Lithionics batteries will not charge from tow vehicle The standard 7-pin connection from tow vehicle to trailer cannot be used for charging the Lithionics batteries. Charging the batteries from the TV requires a DC to DC charger, which is an aftermarket installation. For more discussion on this, search for John Davies’ Redarc DC-to-DC charger installation description. Batteries Turn Off Twice now one or two of the three 130-Ah batteries have turned off when reaching low voltage (which happened because we were relying on incorrect SOC values). The SOC readings themselves looked OK, but the voltage did not correspond with SOC. The battery State in the Lithionics app reads “Off” for each battery when it is off. There is no flag on the Zamp or Xantrex control panel that alert the user to one or two batteries being off. The lesson (at least for me): monitor all three batteries, not just one, and note the Current, Power, State, and Status Code settings. If one or more batteries are off, turn the battery(ies) back on, and fully charge to 14.4 volts. Inverter Noise The Xantrex charger/inverter can be noisy charging the batteries with shore power (I’ve measured 60-64 decibels in the cabin when batteries are charging, and about 72 decibels adjacent to the inverter). The noise comes from (1) the charger/inverter fan and (2) the way in which the inverter is mounted (the fiberglass wall to which the inverter is mounted propagates noise into the cabin). The noise can be masked by turning on the A/C. Alternatively, the noise level can be reduced somewhat by lowering the charger current. In the Xantrex app, go to settings, and change the Charger Current from, for example, 100 amps to 30 amps. This will reduce fan noise. It will obviously take longer to charge the batteries with lower current. If you would like to be connected to shore power (to run an electric heater or the A/C, for example), but not charge the batteries (to avoid keeping them fully charged for long periods of time, or to reduce inverter noise) you can set the charger ignition control in the Xantrex app settings to “auto-on” (thanks to NCEagle for figuring this one out). In this mode shore power energizes the 110 outlets, the A/C, and the fridge, but does not charge the batteries. Turn the charger ignition control “off” to resume charging batteries with shore power. There are likely ways of re-mounting the inverter so that noise does not propagate into the cabin, with either a different mounting location or perhaps mounts using rubber bushings. Has anyone tried this yet? Xantrex Communication Errors Too often, I’ve gotten “Code 20” communication errors on the Xantrex remote panel. This can be resolved by pushing the red button on the 300A breaker under the streetside bed, waiting for at least 30 minutes, and then pressing in the little red flag on the breaker. Yes, this is a pain (I wish this breaker were more accessible), but it usually resolves the issue. Leaving the Xantrex inverter on battery mode for 25 hours or more will result in the Code 20 communication error. The time limit can be changed in the Xantrex app, but cannot be lengthened to more than 25 hours. As long as the inverter has not timed out, turning the inverter off and then on again at the remote panel resets the 25-hour time-limit clock. Battery Storage Lithionics provides guidance for storing the lithium batteries (see link below). Long term storage can include lowering the SOC to about 50%. Discharging to the appropriate SOC can be accomplished by turning on an electrical load (e.g., A/C or space heater) while in battery mode and monitoring frequently. Theoretically one could set the inverter cutoff voltage (in the inverter app, under settings), to something like 13.2 volts, but the highest cutoff-voltage option is 12.8 volts. Lithionics recommends keeping a log of SOC and voltage readings prior to and after storage for warranty purposes. ------------------------ Hope this helps. Again, please correct any errors that you see, and please add your observations and tips. Fritz ------------------------------------------ Relevant Links Lithionics battery app: https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/api/kbArticles/386680000012415191/locale/en/attachments/lpqvx861bbc9c842d48f7995281b07d0a193d/content?portalId=edbsnfe5dceb1ade7571879ff200cb63e14a94b62f48e3338c31a6401acd00130b0bc&inline=true). Lithionics battery manual: At the time of this writing, the Oliver Knowledge Base has links to Lithionics manuals for 125 Ah and 320 Ah batteries. However, our LE2 has three 130 Ah batteries as part of the 390-Ah package, and the manuals for the 125-AH batteries and the 130-Ah batteries are not the same. A manual for the 130 Ah battery can be found on the Lithionics website: https://lithionicsbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/12V130-G31LRBM8-Battery-User-Guide-R1.pdf. Lithionics Storage Procedure https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/api/kbArticles/386680000012415191/locale/en/attachments/lrotz3ebee5a7020f42a58eb0d4db18a41356/content?portalId=edbsnfe5dceb1ade7571879ff200cb63e14a94b62f48e3338c31a6401acd00130b0bc&inline=true Lithionics FAQs https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/api/kbArticles/386680000012415191/locale/en/attachments/lrotz0edc34bc92ef4dce941bbb7f3f2d89db/content?portalId=edbsnfe5dceb1ade7571879ff200cb63e14a94b62f48e3338c31a6401acd00130b0bc&inline=true Xantrex Remote Bluetooth Pairing and Operation https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/en/kb/articles/xantrex-remote-bluetooth-pair-operation

I think there will be some sad customers that remained on the fence for the new model year. The past two years have been doozies for inflation related price increases.

We have run into this problem and have yet to find away around it. I can also tell you that should you get I to some of these popular parks you will find several vacant spaces. I believe Florida residents can book 12 months in advance at very low rates. I have been told some forget they made the reservations but others just chose to do something else. Very few cancel as they paid so little for the sites. I can't confirm this but park rangers have told me this. Otherwise the online at midnight is about the only remedy! Good Luck I feel your pain! We moved sites with in a few parks.

I have been able to run both of my dual fuel generators in the same manner, either directly to a propane tank or the OTT’s QC ports. The following has been posted a few times on Oliver FBs in response to others requesting pertinent information: To answer your question, alter the two stage regulator system that comes with most dual fuels by installing a QC between the first stage (primary) and second stage (secondary) regulators. When utilizing the Oliver’s QC for propane, the primary regulator is removed and only the secondary is needed to operate the genny within reach of a hose. I typically pass an extension hose connected to the Oliver’s front QC through the access port on the front tank housing and stage the genny on the trailer tongue, TV tailgate or ground. If you want to connect directly to one of the trailer’s tanks or a spare, you simply utilize the two stage regulator by rejoining with the QC. Attached photos show the divided regulator and secondary stage only being used to operate generator by an extension hose from the OTT’s front QC. Additional info: I too have the Westinghouse iGen4500DF and find on long hose runs to have the regulators close to the generator with use of an extension hose when spanning directly from a propane tank to the generator.

Trainman, I think you’re misunderstanding what we’re discussing scissor jacks for. This heavy duty scissor jack is to lift one side of the Ollie completely off the ground for flat tire changes & wheel bearing maintenance using the labeled lift points on the Oliver frame. I’m not using this heavy duty scissor jack for stabilizing the trailer while camping. I do use the onboard stabilizer jacks as intended to prevent rocking of the camper when set up at a campsite. Oliver recommends AGAINST using the onboard stabilizer jacks to lift the trailer completely for tire changes, etc. although some owners have been known to do that.

I don't have to get on my hands and knees, but I do try to be sure I don't bang the door handle on the floor, don't want it to get scuffed up over time. This heater is very compact and has worked well for us: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004473UK2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We all have had some mishaps along the way, biggest one I did was failure to turn the hot water heater off from the electric and when I got home I plugged the trailer in as we always do and a week later I noticed my hot water heater outside was warn, yes we still had hot water a week later. trainman

Southern Utah is hit and miss this time of year, weather wise. We had 60s during the days last month when we were at Zion, it was gorgeous weather and scenery. Don’t leave the park in your truck, it will take hours to get back in! You can walk out and do some things and walk back in from Watchman, but don’t drive. Don’t ask me how I know! Mike

Being a modeler and using every type of glues out there and pretty much know what works and what doesn't I would have my own ideas on what to use. First I might try 3M double sticky tape as the glue is still stuck on the fiberglass panel which is not that smooth, but the glue surface does look smooth and the other part has a smooth surface. All being said, the 3M tape will hold more then you think it will and for a long time. A lot of glues that were mentioned above are being misused for that type of application for the materials involved. trainman

OMGoodness. After reading this thread I decided to get up on the roof, remove the A/C cover, and gaze at the many ways a bird, or mud-dauber, or frog, or whatever, could end up under the cover. I'll be busy screening today! John

We store 2 things via the "basement" interior door: our small electric heater when not in use, and the laundry bag. When the bag gets relatively full on a long trip, we move it to the truck and get out a new bag. Perfect spot for that purpose.

We have the interior basement access door option. It’s something we could have eliminated from our build. It is a fairly small opening. We don’t use it for anything now. We tried it for access for putting shoes in the basement for a bit, but as we’ve evolved our camping setup, I use the basement for all the outside hookup items (shore power AC cord, TV coax cable, water hoses, water filters, water pressure regulator, etc) all in milk crates to keep things organized and easy to pull out of the basement through the exterior basement door.

Frank - Any issues with using the Plexus? Did you have any remaining and if so how long did it last before any of it went "bad".

We had a site so unlevel at Davis Mountains State Park I ended up backing in across the grass and parking sideways in the site. I tried the normal way but had the front jack completely extended with blocks. It didn’t look safe at all. Here’s a grainy long distance picture of us sideways in the site. Under the trees to the left is another Oliver, @mountainoliver. Not all sites are that bad, we’ve had a couple of others that were fine, we took these sites so we could camp next to our fellow Oliver owners. It’s nice to have a trailer small enough to fit into weird sites (even sideways) and still be big enough to be comfortable.

Read the post to quick thought it said basket oh well 🤪

Same problem in the same AC vent when we were in Moab last year. The little birds were persistent. I’d clear out the twigs every day and they would start again right away. The only thing that kept them away was running the air conditioner. I’m planning to add some screening over the vents before we venture out for this year’s trips.

Certainly a small air conditioner is a bunch cheaper and a bunch easier to buy and put on/take off as compared to a CalMark cover for the entire Oliver! 😁 Bill

Jim and Chris Neuman raise a good point: choice of mattress matters with the Standard Floor Plan. My wife likes a soft bed and I like a really firm one. We use a Sleep Number Bed at home, with her side at 35 and mine at 100! When tent camping, we take an inflatable mattress for her and just a Thermarest for me. So, our initial plan with the Elite II is to use an inflatable air mattress for her side, and just the seat cushions on my side. When we need to access the valves or breakers under the rear seating platforms, or get to the overhead cabinets, we plan to flip the air mattress up against the wall.

We went with the Standard bed option. My wife and I are retired, camp primarily by ourselves and leave the bed made up. When company arrives for dinner or a visit, we stuff the bedding in stuff sacks we have on hand (primarily a down comforter and a couple of sheets) and put it in the back seat of the pickup. We use 2" memory foam toppers split down the middle of the bed and encased in sheets - these we roll up and stuff in the back seat of the pickup along with bedding. The whole process is easy, takes just minutes and leaves you with a large table / seating arrangement. We have seated seven adults comfortably around the table. Gettng in and out of bed for a nighttime stroll is easy - just slide off the foot of the bed (we sleep with heads to the aft end of the trailer). Accessing valves / breakers under seats is no different than a twin - lift the cushion, prop it up with the lid and make your changes ... it may be incrementally more difficult than a twin setup but not enough to matter. The bed, with standard cushions and the toppers is extremely comfortable and it is HUGE. One issue you might consider with the standard is that the upgrade, latex cushions are very bulky, heavy and could be difficult to deal with if you have a standard model and wish to store the inserts while using the dining table. For this reason, when placing the order for our standard Oliver II, Rodney in sales suggested we go with the original (thinner) mattress style. Incidentally, I have found that, leaving the table up, the smaller beds on the standard model are still plenty big enough for me @ 5'9 & 180#.

I’m 6’1” and do just fine with twin model. I like the open feel and as mainly solo traveler have other bed setup as couch for daytime and it is also bed for dog at night. I don’t move much and the width of bed isn’t an issue. Good luck !

We purchased a used 2017 LE2 with the standard bed and used that bed for one trip. We left the table at home on the second trip. We experimented with different sleeping arrangements and as a 6' side sleeper, the rear bench worked best for me. Krunch claims to be 5' but I don't believe it, so she could sleep on either side or the dinette. And the dogs are just happy to be touching one of us while they sleep, so they had multiple choices. After the third trip, we made an appointment to take it back to Hohenwald for a twin bed conversion and we have never looked back. I believe that the standard bed takes up about 40% of the square footage and made the three rear cabinets very difficult to access for both of us and we didn’t enjoy the twice a day bed to table change over. And if you upgraded the standard mattress, you are pretty much locked into leaving to bed up 100% of the time. There are multiple OTTO's that have made the twin bed into a standard bed for temporary usage, such as camping with grandkids. Check out the option Mike and Carol created, allowing the very clever use of modified dinette cushions to fill in the gap. Mossey

Any issues with ventilation and moisture buildup? I have been considering getting one of the heaters, the extra fan is very nifty! John Davies Spokane WA

The obstruction under the fridge is a gas barrier. That entire compartment is supposed to be completely blocked from the rest of the cabin, in case there is a propane leak. OTH there is no reason you can’t cut an access hole in the panel. John Davies Spokane WA

Fantastic mod! I was actually planning on doing the exact same thing to avoid losing water when boondocking. I also wanted to add another two valves, the hot water into the cold line, and then the cold line into the tank, in order to circulate hot water through all the pipes to prevent freezing pipes when camping in freezing weather. Preferably with a temperature sensor to activate the circulation valves opening when the street side pipes shows a 36 degrees temperature reading.

I am also. Our delivery date is November 7 so we have until mid August to finalize options.

Interesting comment Fairmontrvpark! We are leaning toward the truma.

So, this prompted an earnest discussion with DW tonight. Specifically, would we want to trade that kitchen cabinet space for the bigger fridge? In the end, probably not. We think that the current 4.5 cf will be enough for the two of us and cabinet storage is always precious. But that Truma A/C? That's another story. I'd give my eye teeth to have one of those on our trailer when we take delivery in August.

The simplest solution for vibration control would be to add a single layer of stereo sound mat under the inverter charger. Unfortunately it is quite heavy, but I don’t think you would have to cover the entire cabin wall with it. The standard “isolation mount” in aircraft avionics is the Lord mount. Normally four are used in a horizontal position, but they do offer ones suitable for vertical mounting, these might work but they would move the inverter much further away from the cabin wall and that might create clearance issues or hinder access to other electrical stuff nearby. I have no clue how big the inverter is, so you would need to get the dimensions, weight and mounting hole sizes, study the compartment clearances, and maybe consult with a Lord tech advisor….. https://www.lord.com/products-and-solutions/vibration-and-motion-control/aerospace-and-defense/equipment-isolators/multiplane-mounts These high capacity chargers (as well as the batteries themselves) need better cooling than the factory design, but cutting vent holes in the lower electronics compartments will also let out the noise. It’s a big catch 22. Having that unit located right under the sleeping area is very unfortunate. It gets quite hot in there in summer and the air can’t get out…. I agree about the lack of an MPPT solar controller, it is a head scratcher; I sold my Zamp and replaced it with a Victron one when I converted to Battle Born lithiums. It is a much more capable charger, and it is fully programmable and can be networked through the VictronConnect app. And the lack of vehicle charging is also disturbing. IMHO Oliver should at least run two large gauge cables from the battery area up to the tongue and terminate them there in a weatherproof junction box. The owner could then easily add a big dc to dc lithium charger in the truck with minimal hassles, before or after delivery... the factory lithium packages are definitely works in progress. Yours is a most informative and professionally presented post. Thank you. I hope you will do more of them. See my “HOW TO” page for my lithium and other mods. I am glad those have been informative over the years, as will be this thread. John Davies Spokane WA